1. What is the difference between an
accommodation and a modification?

An accommodation generally refers to a change in the
materials or procedures that does not change what is being measured. A
modification generally refers to a change to the test that is thought
to change what is being measured. It is important to remember that states may
not have empirical evidence about accommodations and how their use maintains the
validity of student scores, and that the distinctions between accommodations and
modifications are often made by professional judgment.

2. When should accommodations be used?

Accommodations should be provided to ensure that an assessment measures the
student's knowledge and skills rather than the student's disabilities. Most
often, these accommodations are routinely provided during classroom instruction.
Accommodations should not be introduced for the first time during an assessment.
Decisions about assessment accommodations should be based on what students need
to have an equal opportunity to show what they know without impediment of their
disabilities.

3. Who makes the accommodation decision?

Most decisions about who needs assessment accommodations should be made by
people who know the educational needs of the student. Federal law now requires
that this be the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team. It is important,
however, for a student's general education teachers to provide input to
accommodations decisions—even if they are not attending the IEP team meeting.

4. How does the type of test (e.g., norm-referenced or criterion-referenced)
affect assessment accommodation decisions?

Some states use norm-referenced tests (NRT), nearly all use criterion-referenced
tests (CRT), and some use both. NRTs are used to allow comparisons to norms
developed under standardized procedures; CRTs assess whether students can
perform particular tasks, but do not compare a student's performance with the
performance of a standardization group.

NRTs may create special challenges for providing accommodations because some of
these tests have been standardized without accommodations or with only a limited
number of accommodations. For accommodations not included in the
standardization, states may need to report the scores separately.

CRTs are designed to measure performance in relation to content and achievement
standards, and thus may offer more flexibility in the use of accommodations.
Similarly, reporting results from accommodated assessments with non-accommodated
assessments should be acceptable.

5. How are accommodated test scores reported?

Given that accommodations are intended to allow the measurement of a student's
skill and not the effect of a disability, scores for accommodated assessments
can be aggregated with non-accommodated tests to best capture the performance of
all students. When the effects of particular accommodations are questioned, a
reasonable approach is to both aggregate the data with the rest of the test
scores and to disaggregate the scores of students receiving questionable
accommodations. For large-scale assessments used for accountability purposes,
state and federal policies affect how scores are reported.

6. What is the impact of assessment accommodations on score comparability?

With increased research on accommodations (see the
NCEO Accommodations
Bibliography), empirical evidence of the impact of accommodations is growing.
Still, most states and districts use professional judgment to determine which
accommodations affect score comparability. For example, even though the research
on several specific accommodations is contradictory, states must set policy. To
do so, a strong rationale is developed for an accommodation based on what the
test is intending to measure, and whether the accommodation changes what is
being measured.

7. How fair is it to provide assessment accommodations to some students, but not
others?

When answering this question, it is important to remember that the intent of
providing accommodations is to help ensure that the test is measuring the
student's skills, not just the effects of disability. Some states have decided
to extend availability of accommodations to all students, not just those with
disabilities. Variability in policies on assessment accommodations often is due,
in part, to differences in definitions and test characteristics, as well as to
variations in which accommodations are counted in accountability systems.

8. What do federal laws say about providing accommodations?

Several federal laws have provisions for requiring the use of accommodations for
students with disabilities.

The regulations for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 and
2004 address several key points with regard to accommodations:

1.
34 CFR § 300.320(a)(6)(i) of the regulations implementing Part B of the Act
requires that the IEP state "any individual appropriate accommodations that are
necessary to measure the academic achievement and functional performance of the
child on State and districtwide assessments."

2.
34 CFR § 300.160(b)(1) of the regulations requires states to develop
accommodations guidelines for state and district assessments.

3.
34 CFR § 300.160(b)(2)(i) of the regulations requires that the guidelines
developed by states identify only those accommodations that do not invalidate
scores.

4.
34 CFR § 300.160(b)(2)(ii) of the regulations requires instructs IEP teams to
select only accommodations that do not invalidate scores.

5.
34 CFR § 300.160(f)(1) of the regulations requires states to report the
number of students with disabilities who participated in statewide assessments
using accommodations.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), reauthorized as the No Child
Left Behind Act of 2001, also addresses accommodations:

34 CFR 200.6(a)(1)(ii)(A) of the regulations requires states to develop and
disseminate information on, and promote the use of appropriate accommodations.
PDF document

34 CFR 200.6(a)(1)(ii)(B) of the regulations requires states to ensure that
regular and special education teachers and other staff know how to administer
assessment, including making appropriate accommodations.
PDF document

34 CFR 200.6(a)(3)(ii) of the regulations requires states to report on the
number and percentage of students with disabilities taking regular assessments
with accommodations.
PDF document

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 addresses accommodations by
requiring that facilities be free of barriers and accessible to persons with
disabilities. It was amended in 2008 to provide broader protections for workers
with disabilities.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 does not directly mention
accommodations for elementary and secondary school students. However, the
regulations and interpretation of this law have indicated that reasonable
accommodations should be provided to students with disabilities.

9. What are some tools that can help with accommodations decisions?

The NCEO Data Viewer contains information regarding how states include
accommodations for students with disabilities in their policies. It generates
individualized reports based on various selectable criteria. It includes a major
database on State Policies on Assessment Participation and Accommodations for
Students with Disabilities.

The NCEO Accommodations Bibliography allows users to search a compilation
of empirical research studies on the effects of various testing accommodations
for students with disabilities.

The CCSSO Accommodations Manual provides a customizable format for states
to use in developing their own materials on the accommodations decision-making
process. One example of how a state has customized these materials is this
example developed by the state of Minnesota.